The story opens with King Ahasuerus having a banquet for the princes, nobles and the army leaders. During this time, he calls for Queen Vashti to come and display her beauty. She refused. This made the king angry. So he banned her from his presence. Then came the gathering of the maidens so that the king could find a new queen. Esther who was raised by her uncle Mordecai was brought to the palace. Her uncle admonishes her to keep her heritage quiet. So Esther does not reveal that she is Jewish. But the favor of God's people is upon her and she is moved to the best place in the harem. She is treated specially by the keeper of the harem. She is given special food and attendents but mostly she is given advice. Now before she could be brought to the king, she was given a twelve month beauty treatment. She was given six months of oil of myrrh and six months of spices and cosmetics.
Meanwhile, a plot to kill the king is discovered by Mordecai and the plot is overthrown which saves the kings life. Remember this as it will be very important later in the story. Shortly after this Haman rises to power in the kingdom. And he begins to demand deference and worship from those who come in contact with him. But Mordecai who only worships God refuses. So then Haman discovers that Mordecai is a Jew and decides that all Jews must be wiped off the face of the earth. An edict goes forth and the annihilation begins. Esther learns of what is happening from her uncle Mordecai, who tells her that her appointment with her destiny moment is at hand. He tells her that she is not safe as well as any other Jewish person, and asks her to intercede on behalf of her people with the king. Now the choice is more difficult, do nothing and die with the Jews, OR go to the king who has not called you and face death UNLESS he extends his scepter to you. Esther requests prayer and fasting and also states that she and her maidens will pray and fast as well. Then she approaches the king. At this time Haman is having a gallows built to hang Mordecai upon. And then Esther goes to the king, who extends his scepter to her. He offers her up to half his kingdom, and what does she ask for? She asks for the king and Haman to come to a banquet that she has prepared just for them. That night the king could not sleep and he asks for the chronicles be read to him and that is when he hears about the plot that Mordecai had discovered. The next day he has Haman lead Modecai wearing the king's robes and on the king's horse through the street proclaiming that this is what is done for the man that the king chooses to honor. Then they go to the banquet, and Esther asks them to come back the next night for another banquet. On the second night Queen Esther makes her request for her and her people. The king is so upset that someone should try to hurt the queen goes to the garden. Haman stays to beg for his life. When the king returns the Haman has fallen onto Queen Esther's sofa. The king has him taken away and he is hanged on the gallows that he prepared for Mordecai. The decree is changed and the Jews will not be annihilated but they may seek vengence on their enemies and a great victory is had!
Where is the prophetic in Purim? Understanding the the enemy of our souls was trying to cut off our destiny at the root. He was trying to stop the Messiah from being born. Because if you have no children of Abraham, you have no lineage for the Messiah to come from. But God protected the root of our family tree, the root of the Judeo-Christian heritage.
Oh and ladies, my favorite part of this story is how Esther prepared herself for her role in destiny. She made herself beautiful. A year of beauty treatments to step into place to stop the annihilation of her people. Amazing! God is so good to us. He allows us to rest and just be beautiful! Now how fun is this!
This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life and loving the prophetic!
